Too Many Nightcrawlers
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: There are too many versions of Nightcrawler in the Danger Room
1. Default Chapter

Characters Used:  
  
Marvel's LS Kurt: Evil womanizing Nazi bastard  
  
My LS Kurt: Everyone's loveable version of LS Kurt!  
  
Comic Kurt: Average 616 Nightcrawler; will be referred to as Kurt only  
  
AOA Kurt: Grumpy Nightcrawler with a tattoo over his eye and hates religion...scary  
  
Movie Kurt: Awww he's so cute and overly Catholic  
  
Evo Kurt: Don't make me puke  
  
Kymri: Female version of Nightcrawler from Excalibur 16 and 17  
  
Ultimate Nightcrawler: From Ultimate X-men!  
  
Cadbury: Bastard human from Excalibur 23, he called Kurt ugly!  
  
On with the story!  
  
***  
Kurt had no idea how or why this had happened. All he knew was that he had gone into the Danger Room to practice for an hour when something happened and it malfunctioned to the extreme while he was in the middle of a teleport. The doors slammed shut and the machines fizzled out as electricity raced around, hitting him when he reappeared.  
  
He fell to the ground with a shout, blacking out as he heard the sound of people crying out in surprise.  
  
When Kurt opened his eyes, he thought that he had died and gone straight to Hell. There was this thing staring at him, and it looked like him if he had done excessive drugs and grew his hair long.  
  
"Hey homies!" Evo Kurt shouted. "He's avake yo!" Kurt heard a group of people groaning and when he sat up, he felt like passing out again.  
  
He only recognized about...oh say three of the people in the room with him at the moment, and he hated two of them, Cadbury and Marvel's LS Kurt. Everyone else...no idea.  
  
But they all looked like him in some odd way.  
  
"Computer? Deactivate program." He tried, standing up slowly.  
  
"Program disengaged. Error. Doors sealed. Override manually required to open doors. Error. Override manually required to open doors. Error. Override..."  
  
"Is that damn thing going to keep saying that the whole time that we're in here?" AOA Kurt demanded, his tail flicking to one side irritably.  
  
"Be patient, mein freund." Marvel's LS Kurt said, walking around the walls slowly with a smirk. "I am sure there is a way out of here. Isn't that right?" he asked, turning to Kurt.  
  
"You're going to be a pain in my ass the whole time we're in here aren't you?" Kurt asked with a sigh.  
  
"Oh yes." Marvel's LS Kurt said. "It's time for some payback! But first, I must know who this lovely creature is." He said, turning to Kymri. Kymri snorted, backing up slightly.  
  
"I'd rather lie with a sand shark than with something scummy like you!" she said, her hand straying to her sword. "Nightcrawler, what's going on?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know." Every other Nightcrawler said at once.  
  
"I meant that one." She sighed, pointing to Kurt.  
  
"I really can't say." Kurt said, walking over to the door. He tapped on it with his tail, waiting for a reply.  
  
"Kurt, you ok in there?" Logan's voice called from the other side.  
  
"I think not." Kurt sighed, looking around at all his different forms. "Can you open the door?"  
  
"It's going to take a few hours." Logan said. Kurt pinched the bridge of his nose and cursed softly.  
  
"Hurry up please." He said. Turning around to the others, he sighed, trying to think of something.  
  
As was his nature, Evo Kurt opened his mouth and started to talk.  
  
And talk.  
  
And talk.  
  
"Yo dogs! I cannot stay here for long, yo!" he said, making stupid hand gestures. "I gots a date vith zhe hot fox Kitty und I do not vish to be late for zhat stuff, yo!"  
  
"Please stop talking like that." AOA Kurt said. "It's getting on my..."  
  
"Don't tell me vhat to do, yo! You're not my homie gee in the house!" Evo Kurt protested. AOA Kurt narrowed his eyes, his tail flicking dangerously. Everyone saw the danger except for Evo Kurt.  
  
"I think you should stop while you are ahead." Movie Kurt said softly, keeping as far away as possible.  
  
"This is so vhack yo! Who are you people anyvay man? You're not one of my homies und..."  
  
His head came off with one slice, spraying Cadbury with blood. Calmly, AOA Kurt turned to everyone else, his sword dripping with blood.  
  
"Any protests?" he asked. Everyone including Kurt had to think about it for a moment before they said.  
  
Everyone except Cadbury that is.  
  
"That is just like a bunch of ugly faces!" he spat. "You're all a bunch of animals who need to be controlled!"  
  
"Excuse me?" AOA Kurt demanded, turning on him.  
  
"Back off, ugly face!" Cadbury warned, drawing his gun on him. "I'll blow your face off!"  
  
"You can try." My LS Kurt said, his arms crossed over his chest. "But you won't if you know what's good for you. Think about for a moment. Six against one is not very good odds. Even if you do have a gun and we only have rapiers and swords."  
  
"Don't try preaching to me, baldy." Cadbury shot back, seeing that My LS Kurt was furless and hairless. "You! Try and get this door opened now!" he ordered Kurt.  
  
"It's going to take a few hours, Cadbury." Kurt said, placing his hands on his hips. "Calm down. There's no need for bloodshed here."  
  
"Tell that to the freak with the tattoo! Sure that kid was annoying, but he didn't have to kill him like that!" Cadbury shot.  
  
"I know. Put the gun down and everyone will put their swords down."  
  
"Nothing doing!" Cadbury said. Kymri tried to slink towards him with her sword have drawn, but he turned on her and fired a warning shot, making Movie Kurt flinch and try to stay well in the shadows with Ultimate Kurt.  
  
"Back off you ugly freak!" Cadbury shouted at her.  
  
"Did you just call me ugly?" Kymri asked.  
  
"If the shoe fits!" Cadbury shot back. Before he could fire another shot, his hand was severed from his arm and he screamed as blood poured from the wound profusely. Kymri mercifully finished him off with a thrust to the neck, adding a second body to the pile.  
  
"Everyone calm down!" Kurt shouted angrily, stepping into the middle of the room to gain some kind of control with them. "I don't want anymore bloodshed all right! Now everyone just sit down and relax! In a few hours we'll be out of this room and we'll try and figure out what the hell is going on ok?" Marvel's LS Kurt snorted, sitting down and crossing his legs.  
  
"Jawhol, mein führe." He muttered.  
  
"Shut up, fascist." My LS Kurt said savagely, narrowing his eyes at this nasty version of himself. Marvel's LS Kurt kept his mouth shut, shooting a leering glance over at Kymri.  
  
So for a half an hour the six remaining versions of Nightcrawler sat around and talked calmly, trying to figure out what had happened that wound send eight versions of one man into one room. It soon was discovered that every one of them had been in the middle of a teleport when this occurred, except for Kymri who did not have the ability to do so.  
  
"So whatever did this to us, did it through the parallel universe you all go through?" Kymri asked.  
  
"It seems like it." Kurt sighed, getting up to pace the room. "But to what purpose?" he wondered aloud.  
  
While they were talking, Marvel's LS Kurt was getting restless and bored sitting in one spot with people who were clearly his enemy. Especially the bald furless one who had snapped him with such venom. He didn't like that one at all.  
  
If the big burly version of him got away with killing one of them in a flash, maybe he could get away with killing just one.  
  
"So, what did you do in your world?" Marvel's LS Kurt asked My LS Kurt.  
  
"I was an unwilling soldier to the Reich until I found a way to a world where I could start again with my wife Kitty and our two children." My LS Kurt said. "That is all a man like you needs to know; you lackey for the Nazis!" Marvel's LS Kurt could see that he had pinched a nerve.  
  
"Lackey? A Lackey is better than a turncoat wouldn't you say?" he asked, fiddling with the hilt of his sword.  
  
"If betraying a man who slaughters millions of people in a month is wrong, so be it." My LS Kurt said. "At least I remember that I was raised by the Roma people!" Marvel's LS Kurt snorted.  
  
"At least I haven't soiled my dick with a Jew." He said. "And having children with one! God, they must be deformed whelps with Jew blood in them."  
  
Everyone in the room could just hear My LS Kurt's last nerve snap in two. In a flash he was on his feet with his two blades drawn and ready.  
  
"Come over here and say that again!" he challenged. Baring his fangs in a nasty smirk, Marvel's LS Kurt got up and drew his blades, glancing over at Kymri.  
  
"I shall be done in a moment my dear!" he called, before teleporting behind My LS Kurt and starting the fight.  
  
Kurt saw at once that stopping this fight was useless, and he went to the door and knocked again as the two LS Kurt's battled savagely back and forth.  
  
"Logan, how is it going?" he asked.  
  
"Not good actually." Logan said. "The program says it's having an overload of universes or something like that. It says that it has to clear out some data somehow. I'm not good with this computer shit anyway." He added. "What's going on in there?"  
  
But Kurt didn't answer. His mind was working fast as he tried to think of what the computer was saying, and what was going on.  
  
Everyone was killing each other, and they were all from different universes. What was going on..?  
  
Marvel's LS Kurt was cheating at every possible moment. My LS Kurt knew all of his tricks, but he started to get creative and he found himself with a few deep cuts that bled every time he moved.  
  
"Just give up, turncoat!" Marvel's LS Kurt taunted. "I'll execute you swiftly if you do!"  
  
"I'm not giving up to a Nazi! I'd rather die fighting!" My LS Kurt shouted, charging at him with his swords raised. Marvel's LS Kurt teleported over him and sank his blades into one of My LS Kurt's shoulders, knocking him to the ground with a shout. One of his rapiers rolled away and he was only left with one in his bad hand.  
  
Laughing, Marvel's LS Kurt pressed his blade against My LS Kurt's throat. "I win." He said, raising it up to take his head off.  
  
Ultimate Kurt teleported onto his shoulders and before he could anything, his neck was snapped and he fell to the ground, his sunglasses shattering when they hit the ground.  
  
"[i]Danke.[/i]" My LS Kurt groaned as Kymri and Movie Kurt helped him sit down. "I shouldn't have lost my temper."  
  
"Don't blame yourself." Kurt said softly, placing his head between his hands. "I think there's a reason for all of this. I just have to figure out what!"  
  
Another hour passed without incident, but soon the bodies were starting to stink, and Logan still said the computer wouldn't work for any of them. It wouldn't even the computer whiz Kitty!  
  
As the time passed, Movie Kurt sat with his legs crossed on the floor with his rosary in his hands, whispering softly to himself, the beads clicking in a gentle rhythm. Everyone thought that it was kind of peaceful, listening to his lilting German as he prayed for a way out of this.  
  
Everyone except AOA Kurt, actually.  
  
"Would you stop doing that?" he snapped. "It's really pissing me off!" Movie Kurt was in a trance however, and he continued to pray for himself and the people in the room. Kurt saw where this was going and he did not want anyone else dying in this room.  
  
"Kurt..." he said, holding out a hand to AOA Kurt. "Calm down."  
  
"Why does he need to keep praying like that? It's not like it's going to do him any good!" AOA Kurt protested.  
  
"Let him pray." My LS Kurt said softly. "It helps him stay calm so just let him."  
  
"[i]Ja.[/i]" Ultimate Kurt agreed, his tail swaying side to side like a cat's.  
  
AOA Kurt let it go for another half hour. When it was over however...  
  
Movie Kurt barely escaped losing his head as he dodged the sudden swing from AOA Kurt.  
  
"I said stop praying damn you!" AOA Kurt screamed at him. Everyone tried to calm him down, grabbing him by the arms, and telling him that Movie Kurt was done praying, but he wasn't having it. He was going to kill him.  
  
Movie Kurt backed away from AOA Kurt, holding out his hands in peace.  
  
"I will stop!" he said. "Please..." AOA Kurt elbowed Kurt in the nose and charged at Movie Kurt, stabbing at him.  
  
Ultimate Kurt teleported in front of Movie Kurt with his arms spread in protection. He had meant to grab the blade and then teleport away with it, but the blade entered his lower stomach, and he doubled over as blood shot out of his mouth.  
  
"Murderer!" Kymri screamed as AOA Kurt kicked Ultimate Kurt off of his blade to get to Movie Kurt.  
  
"He shouldn't have gotten in the way!" AOA Kurt snarled, turning on Movie Kurt again. My LS Kurt's wounds were very bad, and he was starting to lose feeling in one of his arms, but he wasn't going to let AOA Kurt kill Movie Kurt like this.  
  
Struggling to his feet, My LS Kurt charged at him and slammed AOA Kurt into a wall, making him drop one of his blades.  
  
"He's not even armed you coward!" he spat, taking a punch to the face. "Calm down!"  
  
"The Nazi should have finished you off!" AOA Kurt shouted, stabbing My LS Kurt deeply in the side. He fell to the ground, and Kymri fought with AOA Kurt, screaming curses in her alien tongue.  
  
Struggling to sit up, My LS Kurt slid one of his rapiers over to Movie Kurt.  
  
"The least you could do is help!" he said through bloody teeth. Movie Kurt teleported onto AOA Kurt's back and he stabbed him between the shoulder blades, the blade coming out of his chest. He was thrown off from the screaming madman and he was stabbed in the stomach in one last burst on energy before AOA Kurt fell on top of him.  
  
"I don't understand any of this!" Kurt screamed, tears falling helplessly. "Why is this happening!?"  
  
"Ever hear of gladiators?" My LS Kurt coughed, his vision fading. "The computer has to clear out data. We're the data. It's making us kill each other."  
  
"But to what purpose?" Kymri asked, kneeling down beside My LS Kurt. He was all ready gone though, and it was down to two people.  
  
"Logan! Is it working yet?" Kurt called, not wishing to fight Kymri.  
  
"It says that one more file needs to be removed, or something like that." Logan said.  
  
"I can't do this." Kurt said. "I won't." Kymri looked around at all of the dead, and she knew what had to be done.  
  
"Nightcrawler, this is your world right?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, why?" Kurt asked. When he saw the look on her face he shook his head. "I won't kill you, Kymri! Not to get out of here!"  
  
"This is you world, Nightcrawler. You belong here. Besides, we'll both starve to death if we don't!"  
  
"There has to be another way!" he insisted. When Kymri shook her head, he couldn't help but weep helplessly. "This is insane!" he cried.  
  
"If you won't do it, then I'll perform suicide." Kymri said calmly. "I'd rather die by another warrior's hand, Nightcrawler." Looking into her eyes, he saw that it was hopeless to fight with her about it. Drawing his sword, Kurt walked up to her, his tail curling around one leg. She tilted her head to one side, smiling weakly at him as she shrugged.  
  
"Hey, at least we saw each other again right?" she asked. They embraced, and Kurt drove his sword through her stomach, snuffing out her life.  
  
That's when the doors opened. Stepping inside, Logan found Kurt all alone, weeping softly and whispering the name Kymri.  
  
"What happened? It just said space saved and opened up again!" he said. Kurt walked by him, his head bowed and his tail drooped and unmoving.  
  
"Elf? Elf!" Logan called, running after him. ***  
He didn't know what had been going on the whole time. He had been teleporting away from his angry master when he found himself in a metal room with eight other versions of himself. They started to fight and soon all except one of them was dead.  
  
It was scary and exhilarating at the same time.  
  
Leaping down to the ground, Limbo Kurt walked out of the Danger Room and into a new world.  
  
The End 


	2. 2

Limbo Kurt was terrified.  
  
He had been found in the X-men's fridge, eating everything in sight. Logan had been the one to find him, and the chase was on as the alarms blared wildly all over.  
  
He ran into a room that didn't have a window, and he found himself cornered as Kurt, Jean, and Logan came in. He tried to teleport, but Jean cut off that option and he was stuck in the corner, his back pressed up against it as he trembled and whimpered softly in the infernal tongue.  
  
"What is he doing here?" Logan asked. Kurt thought about it, and his eyes grew wide when he realized what must have happened. He crouched down in front of Limbo Kurt, his tail swaying lazily side to side to show him that it was all right.  
  
"It's all right." He said gently. "We won't hurt you."  
  
"I was hungry." Limbo Kurt said. "I didn't eat all of your food..." Logan snorted.  
  
"Yeah, you left a bottle of ketchup in there for us."  
  
"Logan." Kurt said, looking over his shoulder. Turning back to Limbo Kurt, he smiled and held out his hand slowly. "Come on, you and I need to tell everyone what happened in the Danger Room all right?" he asked. Limbo Kurt's stomach growled loudly in answer.  
  
"And we'll get you some more to eat all right?" he added with a laugh. Nodding, Limbo Kurt took his hand and they all headed for Xavier's office to talk. ***  
"And you're not sure why this happened?" Xavier asked when both had told him what had happened in the Danger Room. Kurt nodded, but Limbo Kurt hesitated, biting his lower lip slightly.  
  
"Do you know anything else?" Xavier asked gently.  
  
"I think so." Limbo Kurt admitted softly. "Once, I heard my master talking to Mephisto. Mephisto said...what did he say... He said that he needed to get rid of a few realities and...and that's all I remember..." he mumbled sadly, his tail wrapping around one of his legs slowly.  
  
"It's all right." Xavier assured him. "We'll figure out everything else from there." Hank took Limbo Kurt gently and led him to the infirmary to look at a few of his old wounds while the others tried to figure everything out.  
  
"Mephisto wanted to get rid of a few realities?" Kurt asked aloud.  
  
"Isn't Mephisto that demon who's the boss over Belasco and everything?" Logan asked. "I've heard of him before. I think he's the reason why we have different versions of ourselves around the place isn't he?"  
  
"Yes, I believe he is." Xavier nodded. "But why would you put Kurt in a situation like that with all of those versions of him?"  
  
"The computer was saying that it needed to clear out some universes before it opened the door." Kitty pointed out. "And Limbo Kurt said that he heard Mephisto say the same thing."  
  
"So you're saying that because all of those versions of myself died, so did their worlds?" Kurt asked, his cheeks turning a pale blue.  
  
"I'm afraid it looks like that." Scott nodded.  
  
"But what would be the purpose of destroying different versions of me?" Kurt asked. "What could he possibly gain from it?"  
  
"I'm not sure." Xavier sighed. "But something tells me that it won't be the last time that he pulls something like this. All we can do is hope that we are prepared for him the next time he tries it!" ***  
He needed more room!  
  
Mephisto growled, narrowing his eyes as he watched worlds collapse into themselves as one of their key people died in 616.  
  
But it just wasn't enough!  
  
Clenching his fist, Mephisto put a few Captain Britain's into a single room to take down a few more worlds.  
  
He needed more room so that he could manipulate the entire Marvel Universe into his own making. Then he would be the supreme ruler of the universe!  
  
But he couldn't interfere with Earth 616...not directly anyway. He could just put a few different versions into one room and watch the fireworks after that.  
  
Once he was able to get rid of as many universes as he could, he would replace them with his own deformed and perverted versions, sending the people to Earth 616 to take it down once and for all.  
  
Until then, all he could do was sit and wait, and destroy worlds along the way.  
  
The End 


	3. 3

Author's Note: Everyone at Nightscrawlers all ready knows this, but this goes for the readers over at FF.net who keep asking me this. Limbo Kurt is an enslaved version of Nightcrawler who was corrupted and turned evil by Belasco in Limbo, thus giving him the name Limbo Kurt.  
  
On with the story!  
  
***  
A scream rent through the night air.  
  
It forced Ororo out of her dreams, and she was ready to lash out and fight when she realized that the scream was coming from the room Logan had put Nightcrawler's doppelganger Limbo Kurt in.  
  
Sighing, she put on a robe and she headed down to his room, wincing, as his wailing got stronger by the minute.  
  
When she reached his room and opened the door, she found him lying on the floor, curled up in a tight ball as he trembled and screamed, begging in Infernal and German for whoever was whipping him to stop it.  
  
"Kurt." She whispered, kneeling down in front of him and running her fingers down his arm. "Kurt, wake up please." He awoke with a jerk, his tail slashing the air as he looked at her. He immediately fell into a cringe, whimpering and bowing his head to her.  
  
"Kurt, it's just me." Ororo said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe here." He looked at her cautiously, his tail tucking in between his legs.  
  
"Why aren't you in the bed? Did you fall off of it?" she asked. He shook his head slowly, looking over at the bed warily.  
  
"Master always made me sleep on rags on the floor." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. "That thing is too soft for me." Ororo smiled at him kindly, tilting her head to one side as she thought it over.  
  
"I have a solution for that." She said, walking up to the bed. Limbo Kurt stayed crouched on the floor, his tail swaying lazily side-to-side as she removed the large quilt on his bed and placed it on the floor, spreading it out.  
  
"You can sleep on this. It's better than the bare floor." She said. "You can use one of the blankets to cover yourself if you want too." She added. Limbo Kurt slowly sat down on the quilt and his tail thumped the ground lightly as he thought quietly to himself.  
  
"What's the matter?" Ororo asked. He shook his head slowly, his tail curling around his ankles.  
  
"Nothing much." He whispered. Ororo sat down beside him, hugging her knees to her chest.  
  
"Something is wrong isn't it?" she asked. He shook his head once more, his tail flicking to one side slightly.  
  
"Nein, it is not that." He said. "It's just..."  
  
"Just?" He looked up at her and he couldn't help but lightly touch her cheek with the tips of his fingers.  
  
"My friend was killed some time ago." He said. "I just missed seeing her face." Ororo sighed softly; remembering the time Illyana told her that she had been forced to kill her doppelganger when she was Belasco's disciple in Limbo.  
  
"I miss all of them." Limbo Kurt sighed, looking away. "Piotr, Logan, Ororo...but mostly Katzchen." He said even softer than the rest. His eyes started to water as he clapped a hand over his face slowly. "I miss my Katzchen..." Ororo didn't know what to say, but she did rest a gentle hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Limbo Kurt rested his hand over hers, looking over at her.  
  
"My Ororo used to do that when I was sad." He said in faint surprise. Ororo smiled faintly, shrugging a bit.  
  
"Maybe we're not so different." She said. "Do you think that you can sleep now?" she asked. Limbo Kurt nodded faintly, biting his lower lip a bit. "Good. Good night, Kurt." She said, heading for the door.  
  
"Guten Nacht." He said, waving his tail after her.  
  
That night, Limbo Kurt dreamt of his old teammates, all of them dead now.  
  
Dead, except for in his heart, where they would live on for as long as he remembered them and held them close. 


	4. 4

He didn't like it.  
  
Limbo Kurt only had a few memories from his life before his master Belasco perverted him and enslaved him, and his old faith in Jesus and God were not one of them.  
  
That's why he didn't like this thing on his doppelganger's wall above his bed. It was a little statue thing of a man nailed to a cross, the look of pain and anguish painted on his features.  
  
It was morning, and the X-men had gone to practice in the Danger Room, leaving Limbo Kurt to explore his new home. He went to his doppelganger's room first, crawling on all fours as he sniffed around and looked through his things, poking them with his tail lightly. He found a candy bar in one of his drawers, and he ate half of it with the wrapper before he discovered that he was supposed to eat it [i]without[/i] the wrapper on it.  
  
Then he saw the crucifix over the bed, and he was fascinated by it.  
  
He crouched on top of Kurt's bed, tilting his head to one side as he stared at it, trying to understand what it meant. His tail swayed side to side gently, mussing up the blankets. He reached out tentatively and he touched it with the tips of his claws, turning his head from one side to the other.  
  
His master had things like these in his bedchambers, but they were mostly skulls, heads, and limbs nailed to the walls and ceilings as trophies of his victories. He just didn't understand why his doppelganger had one like it over his bed. He didn't seem like the man to have torture and murder hanging on his walls like some kind of trophy.  
  
"Is something the matter?" Looking over his shoulder, Limbo Kurt saw his doppelganger standing in the doorway, watching him calmly.  
  
"Why do you have this?" Limbo Kurt asked slowly, turning back to the crucifix. "I thought that...you didn't like torture and murder." Kurt smiled faintly, walking up and sitting down beside him on the bed. Reaching out, he took down the crucifix and held it in his hand.  
  
"I don't." he said. "This is part of my religion; the belief that one man named Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and that he came to Earth and died to wash our sins away."  
  
"Why would He do that?"  
  
"To show His love for us. To show that His Father loved us." Kurt said, shrugging as he placed the crucifix back onto his wall.  
  
"And you have Him on your wall like that? Why do you have Him on the wall dead like that? Why not alive?" Kurt tilted his head to one side, thinking about it for a moment.  
  
"I'm not sure." He said. "I suppose it's to acknowledge what He did for everyone." Limbo Kurt sighed softly, looking away from the crucifix.  
  
"I don't like it." He said. "It's mean to show someone suffering like that. Even if they [i]did[/i] do it willingly." His stomach growled rather loudly, causing Kurt to raise his eyebrows in surprise.  
  
"Hungry?" he asked with a laugh. Limbo Kurt laughed softly, rubbing the back of his head as he followed Kurt out of the room, still on all fours.  
  
"I'm not used to eating good food everyday I suppose." He said. Looking over at his doppelganger, Kurt smiled, tilting his head to one side slightly.  
  
"You'll get used to it." He said. "I'll help you." Limbo Kurt smiled up at him, his tail swaying like a dog's. 


	5. 5

"Make sure you keep a hold of him, Hank!" Kurt shouted over the noise, testing the bath water with the tip of his tail.  
  
"Yowch! I won't be able to if he keeps biting me like this!" Hank cried, trying to keep the struggling Limbo Kurt in check.  
  
"Just a few more minutes!" Kurt assured him, putting in the bubble mix.  
  
During breakfast, quite a few of the X-men commented on the stench coming from Limbo Kurt, as well as the filth clinging to his fur. When he had finished eating, Kurt told him that he was going to give him a bath to clean him up.  
  
That's when the chase began.  
  
Limbo Kurt ran right out of the kitchen, teleporting as far as he could. He led them on a wild chase all over the mansion before Jean could cut off his power. He still ran as fast as he could, lashing out with his claws and fangs when anyone got too close to him.  
  
Logan was forced to tackle him to the ground.  
  
Now he was protesting and swearing, struggling wildly in Hank's arms as he was brought near the tub.  
  
"Calm down." Kurt tried. "You won't be hurt." Limbo Kurt refused to calm down, swearing at him in German as he was placed in water.  
  
Hank and Kurt were completely drenched as Limbo Kurt struggled and kicked wildly in the water. Using a washcloth, Kurt tried to clean off the dirt and filth on his face and arms.  
  
"Please! It's all right!" he cried. It didn't look like Limbo Kurt would listen to him as he tried to push him away and climb out of the tub, but he slowly calmed down, panting heavily as he tilted his head to one side like a dog. He wept softly, bowing his head in surrender.  
  
"I'm sorry." He whispered. Kurt looked over at Hank, raising his eyebrows slightly.  
  
"It must be the professor's doing." Hank shrugged.  
  
"I'm sorry." Limbo Kurt repeated weakly. He closed his eyes letting Kurt lightly shampoo his fur and hair.  
  
*It's all right, Kurt,* Xavier whispered mentally. *But you must let them finish.* He mentally stroked his head, calming him down easily.  
  
Slowly, Kurt poured water over Limbo Kurt's head to wash out the soap and shampoo along with the filth that had piled on him for years as Belasco's slave.  
  
"We're almost done." He said. The side of Limbo Kurt's mouth twitched slightly in a faint smile. Hank and Kurt helped him out of the tub, making him stand up straight as they towel dried his fur.  
  
When they were finished with that, Kurt helped him get dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. He and Hank had to give Limbo Kurt a quick lesson on walking on his two feet instead of crawling on all fours, but he soon was able to do it.  
  
Next came brushing and cutting his hair.  
  
Limbo Kurt screamed, his tail lashing out crazily as Kurt tried to get a brush through the mess that he called his hair.  
  
"Try to stay still." Kurt said.  
  
"It hurts!" his doppelganger screamed helplessly. "Stop it!"  
  
"Your hair needs to be brushed." Kurt said. "Try to relax." Limbo Kurt tried, holding onto the arms of his chair so hard that his claws dug into the wood.  
  
When the knots were finally combed through (though with a few more screams and a few smacks to the face with Limbo Kurt's tail), Kurt cut it to a reasonable length. He cut Limbo Kurt's hair so that it was almost like his own, but with more in the front to hang down if he wanted it to.  
  
"Are you done yet?" Limbo Kurt asked. Smiling, Kurt nodded, putting his things away.  
  
"Now you are just as devilishly handsome as myself." He said. Limbo Kurt looked at himself in the mirror, and he slowly touched his face, his mouth open slightly in awe.  
  
"This is me." He whispered, his tail swaying side to side like a pensive dog's. "This is really me." He suddenly screamed, pressing his hands on either side of his head. Kurt rushed up and rested a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with worry.  
  
"What's wrong?" he cried. Slowly, Limbo Kurt stopped screaming, and he pulled his trembling hands away from his head, tears falling down his cheeks.  
  
"I remembered." He whispered.  
  
"Remembered what?" Kurt asked. Limbo Kurt looked into the mirror, his tail curling around his left leg slightly.  
  
"When I first joined Xavier in my world, I looked at myself in the mirror, just like this." He whispered, reaching out to touch the smooth and cold glass. "I was young then, and possessed my own free will too." He looked towards the door, his tail starting to sway now as he pointed at it.  
  
"Xavier came in through there next, and asked me if I liked this room." He explained. "I nodded, and he smiled at me...and that's when my memories go away again." He moaned sadly. "I only remember snippets after that." Kurt looked at the doorway, almost expecting the professor to actually roll in to see them. Sighing, he rested a hand on his doppelganger's shoulder.  
  
"You'll remember everything in time." He assured him gently. "We'll help you."  
  
"That's what I'm afraid of." Limbo Kurt whispered sadly.  
  
***  
"I said red you idiot!" Belasco screamed, hurling the wine chalice at one of his lesser demons. It shrieked and ran as fast as it could to avoid getting hit. The chalice shattered on the floor, sending white wine all over. Snarling angrily to himself, Belasco sat down, his tail slashing the air.  
  
His slave Nightcrawler wouldn't have forgotten that he liked red wine at this time of the day. And if he had, it would have been more fun torturing him than one of these lesser beasts!  
  
Where the hell was he!?  
  
Belasco got to his feet and stormed into his private chambers to think. He had sent his slave out on a small errand, and he had yet to return!  
  
Clenching his fists, he snarled and swore loudly as he banged his fist on his desk, splintering it.  
  
He would have his slave back. One way or another he would have his slave! 


	6. 6

His master was angry with him.  
  
Limbo Kurt didn't know what he had done to deserve a whipping, but his master had him chained between two poles and he was whipping him over and over again with a cat-o-nine-tails that was blazing with cold fire.  
  
He screamed; his fur struck by the whip searing away. He begged his master to forgive him; his eyes clenched shut as tears fell down his cheeks. He was struck over and over again, his body soon throbbing with the beatings.  
  
***  
He woke with a start, his brow drenched in sweat. He looked around, making sure he was still in his room and on the quilt on the floor beside his bed. Moaning, he placed his head in his hands.  
  
He had been having these dreams a lot over the three weeks that he had been staying at the mansion. Shivering, he hugged himself, rocking back and forth as he whispered to himself that he was safe as long as he stayed here with his twin and his version of the X-men.  
  
Slowly, he stood up and he looked at himself in the mirror, unable to stop himself from tilting his head to one side like a dog.  
  
Reaching out, he pressed the palm of his hand against the glass, making sure that it was really there and that he wasn't still dreaming and would wake up to the touch of the lash.  
  
His tail curled around his leg slowly, the tip swaying side to side lazily.  
  
As long as he stayed here with his twin, he would be safe. His twin had promised him that right to his face the third night that he had been there.  
  
But that still didn't stop the nightmares that he was having every night about being dragged back down to Limbo as a slave. He could still feel the lash of his master's whip.  
  
"Remember," he whispered, pressing his brow against the mirror. "I am safe here. I won't be hurt here because Belasco cannot leave Limbo just to come after me!" Slowly, he took a deep breath and he let it out steadily, calming down his heart and smoothing away the troubles in his mind.  
  
Smiling, Limbo Kurt opened his eyes and he looked at himself in the mirror before he turned ad laid back down on the quilt, going to sleep with a lighter heart.  
  
***  
Belasco was finishing up the last transportation rune in his knot spell. He smiled when he was finished, and he started to hiss out the words in Infernal, he words echoing all around him.  
  
In a flash of fire and brimstone, Belasco was gone.  
  
***  
The computer in the Danger Room sputtered on, typing out that another dimension was incoming, and that another universe needed to be cleared out before it could fix itself up. 


	7. 7

Limbo Kurt laughed, running across the mansion's lawn on all fours, followed by first year students who were trying to catch him.  
  
He paused once, sitting down like a dog as he waited for them to catch up with him.  
  
"Come on you slow pokes!" he shouted, his tail wagging up and down rapidly. He teleported when a child got too close, and he started a whole other chase as he ran down the lawn, laughing the whole time.  
  
Kurt was sitting on the porch with Xavier, smiling as they watched Limbo Kurt playing with the children.  
  
"He seems to work very well with the first years." Xavier said. Kurt nodded, looking at his twin thoughtfully.  
  
"I think that he would make a good playmate for first year students that are nervous or upset about coming here." He said. "It would help them get used to this school if they had someone like him to play with you know?"  
  
"I agree." Xavier nodded. "We'll ask him when he's done with his game."  
  
Limbo Kurt finally became tired and he stopped running, letting one of the first years that had garden snakes for fingers tug on his tail to catch him.  
  
"You caught me!" he laughed, wagging his tail like a dog. "Now it's time for me to..."  
  
"Come back where you belong, slave!"  
  
Kurt got to his feet at once, ready for action as a cloud of red mist appeared a few feet away from Limbo Kurt and the children. Belasco stepped out of the mist, and Limbo Kurt reverted to his cringing demeanor, his tail tucking in between his legs.  
  
"Come over here now!" Belasco shouted, pointing at the ground in front of him. Kurt was running at him, but Belasco saw it and he cast a shield that sent him smashing through a wall of the mansion, making him useless. With a snap of his fingers, he blocked Xavier's powers, locking him into his chair so that he could not move.  
  
"I am in no mood for a big to do about this." He said as other X-men came running out to see what was the matter. "All I want is my property, and then I will leave you X-men to your own devices.  
  
"Now what are you waiting for, slave? Come over here now!" he shouted. Limbo Kurt trembled almost about to go and crawl over to his older master, but then one of the children hugged onto his arm for protection, whimpering in fear. He couldn't go back, not when these children were in danger from his master.  
  
"What are you waiting for?" Belasco demanded, narrowing his eyes dangerously. "Come over here now, slave!" Narrowing his eyes, Limbo Kurt snarled, curling his tail around the children near him protectively.  
  
"I'm not going back." He whispered. Belasco's eye twitched slightly.  
  
"What did you say?" he whispered.  
  
"I'm not going back with you! I'm free here! You cannot take me back." Limbo Kurt said, slowly standing up to his full height. Belasco curled his lip up slightly, narrowing his eyes dangerously as he clenched his fist tightly.  
  
"You just made a big mistake, slave." He whispered. "One that you're going to regret!" 


	8. 8

"Run!" Limbo Kurt shouted, leaping in front of the children. Belasco sketched a hex sign in the air, which flew at Limbo Kurt and struck him in the chest. It dug into his chest and burned him badly, making him howl like an animal as he fell to his knees.  
  
The others tried to help him, but Belasco cast a nether wall that surrounded him and Limbo Kurt, stopping everyone else from getting in to help Limbo Kurt.  
  
"You should have crawled to me when I gave you the chance!" Belasco shouted. "Now you're done!" he held out his hand and clenched it into a fist, making the hex more intense, making him bleed from the corners of his eyes and his ears. Limbo Kurt was thrown to his hands and knees, his body trembling from the pain of his master's fury.  
  
"Beg me to forgive you!" Belasco shouted. "Beg me for forgiveness and perhaps I'll kill you quickly and then bring you back again!" Limbo Kurt clenched his teeth together, blood spurting from between his teeth.  
  
"No." he whispered, his body quivering as he struggled to his feet.  
  
"What did you just say to me?"  
  
"I...said...NO!" Limbo Kurt ran at Belasco, catching him off guard and knocking him to the ground. He ignored the fire that ripped deeper into his chest from the hex as he grabbed his master by the throat and tightened his grip.  
  
"I am not your slave!" he screamed, banging his head on the ground over and over again. "You should have let me die the first time me and my team came to Limbo! That was your mistake keeping my alive for so long you son of a bitch!" He was thrown off with a blast of fire and he smashed through the nether wall and into Scott's waiting arms.  
  
Cradling him in his arms, Scott ran inside to get him medical attention while the others started their assault on Belasco, who soon went back down to Limbo in utter humiliation.  
  
***  
"Are you all right?"  
  
Kitty was looking so beautiful tonight. Limbo Kurt smiled, sitting up slowly and resting his hands on her waist, sliding her down onto his lap.  
  
"I'm all right, mein liebe." He assured her. "Why?"  
  
"Because you're bleeding from your chest."  
  
He looked down, and he screamed as the hex burned more intensely.  
  
***  
Opening his eyes, Limbo Kurt found Hank gently holding his arms down.  
  
"Kurt, you're really messed up I'm afraid." He said, smiling faintly at him. Limbo Kurt tried to laugh, but his chest tightened and he winced and relaxed back down.  
  
"How bad?" he asked softly.  
  
"You may not last." He said sadly.  
  
"That's why she..."  
  
"She who?" Hank asked.  
  
"Nothing." Limbo Kurt said quickly. "I'm just a little hungry. Can you get me something?" he asked. Nodding, Hank left the room.  
  
Sighing, Limbo Kurt closed his eyes, his tail thumping the side of his bed lightly.  
  
"When do you want to come over?"  
  
Looking over to his right, Limbo Kurt saw his Ororo sitting in a chair beside his bed, dressed in the garb she was wearing when Illyana slew her in the name of Belasco. She smiled, leaning over and fixing a stray strand of hair on his face.  
  
"We were wondering when you would show up to meet us." She said.  
  
"Waiting?" Ororo nodded, tilting her head to one side. "The others have been waiting for you, me, and Kitty ever since..."  
  
"Ever since they died?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"But where have they been waiting?" he asked, slowly sitting up to look at her better.  
  
"We've been waiting between life and the final destination, bub. Where the hell have ya been?" Looking over his shoulder, Limbo Kurt laughed aloud when he saw his Logan standing behind him.  
  
"Logan!" he cried, holding out a hand. Logan took his hand, gently squeezing it in reassurance.  
  
"How ya been, Elf?" he asked.  
  
"I missed you so much." Limbo Kurt said softly, blinking back tears.  
  
"Aw, don't get all teary eyed on me, Elf!" Logan laughed.  
  
Soon, Kurt found himself with all of his old teammates around him, laughing and talking to them, unable to hold back the tears that fell down his cheeks.  
  
"Are you ready to go yet?" Kitty asked, placing her hand on his knee lightly.  
  
"Oh Gott, yes." Kurt whispered. "I'm ready."  
  
"We have to give you one warning though." Piotr said, stroking his beard pensively. "It will hurt. A lot."  
  
"I don't care." Limbo Kurt said. "I'm ready now."  
  
That's when the hex sign on his chest performed its final stage.  
  
***  
Hank was putting the finishing touches on the giant sandwich he was making when he heard Limbo Kurt scream. He and everyone else ran into the room as fast as they could, but when they got there they found Limbo Kurt lying half way off of the bed, his arms sprawled at awkward angles.  
  
Limbo Kurt was never happier in all of his life. 


End file.
